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Baseball (the talkin' sport)


Tom Strange
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yeah... Papi is very serviceable at first... he's no Erstad or Teixeira (I am a homer aren't I), but he'll more than make up for any gaffs with his bat... good for you hiway, you can watch the Dodgers of the 60's and early 70's when you watch the Angels...

I hear the Yanks are in a bit of a tiff cuz the Rangers pulled Tex, Blaylock and Michael young early yesterday... and the Angels came back... well too bad! (they might've come back anyway)

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The Yankees are in a tiff? They basically fielded their Triple AAA team yesterday themselves.

Did y'all see the picture of Ozzie Gullien giving the choke sign to the Indians fans? At first i though it was humorous that a manager could be so politically incorrect but the more I thought on it, it wasn't too classy of a move to kick fans while they were down.

I'll be hopin' Manny stays hot

Manny Being Manny

10.2_MR_bg_bdd3.jpg

Edited by mstar1
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I thought Manny being Manny was usually rerved for the games he sat out during pennant drives

reserved I meant

It's funny how the crap flies this time of year. One comment foments days of discussion, judgement, name calling, 'insights' from clueless local sportscasters fishing for any story or 'controversy' they can glom onto.

Just play the damn games.

Tho I couldn't let the Yankees AAA comment pass. Who sat that game out? Jeter had to leave in the 4th because of a nagging injury, otherwise it was Arod, Sheffield, Matsui, bernie, Tino, posada, cano-that's not AAA where I live.

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The point is.... one comment and it's the news of the century. Sure Arod was whining-big friggin deal.

Why didn't they win against tampa Bay etc? I don't know -why has your or my life not been perfect. Why did I flunk geometry in 10th grade. Why did I get involved with the way?

I guess I'm trying to say that this time of year mountains are made out of molehills. Any comment to get one fired up for or against another team is taken and ran with by sportscasters who can't think of any real story to tell. I'm sure none of us have ever said anything we wish we hadn't.

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speaking of bad management-Jim Tracy is out as manager, after doing all he could with the dog of a team Paul Depodesta gave him. Depo said 'it wouldnt have mattered if he won 75 or 95', meaning he wants a manager that plays 'moneyball', as that's Depos philosophy when he was an asst in Oakland. The owner McCourt was out of town at the time.

The Dodgers are a mess. Yet they drew over 3 and a half million !! which gives them the green light to continue fielding worthless teams. I'm as guilty as anyone, having been to over 20 games myself-there was usually at least one major league team to see.

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Tho I couldn't let the Yankees AAA comment pass. Who sat that game out?
I turned the game on in about the fourth or fifth and had never heard of 3/4 of the lineup, I didn't check times but I doubt that the Angels/Rangers game further west was done by then --I could be wrong on that but pretty early on they sat about everyone.....

As far as Manny being Manny there are alot of good aspects to it--he's a whole package----, yea he might forget how many outs in the field or get picked off---but maybe he'll hit two or three 500 foot homeruns and throw out the tying run at the plate.

Depo said 'it wouldnt have mattered if he won 75 or 95', meaning he wants a manager that plays 'moneyball', as that's Depos philosophy when he was an asst in Oakland. The owner McCourt was out of town at the time.

Baseball is in transition, two years ago the Red Sox let Grady Little go for pretty much the same reason and it worked out. As much as I don't like to see something as traditional as baseball change i think that it is inevitable that there will be more and more Moneyball type teams-- but whatever a teams philosophy i can at least see the wisdom of trying to get everyone on the same page, otherwise it will never work and will be a mess..... it sounds like a real power struggle in LA---- with that type of attendance i would think that they would have enough money to build a real contender if they could get it together as an organization ---that is if they really want or need to.. .... If they can get people who are totally exasperated with them to show up 20 times a year and draw 3 1/2 million, they may have a whole different business concept than winning games.....

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Well,no matter how you look at it,it's just a 1-0 series,Sox are up...

Who designs these goofy ballparks anyway?...Growing up,watching only Cubs and White Sox home games on WGN,I never heard of a ground rule double until probably cable tv came out...It cost the Angels a two-out run just now...'Course,it's their park...

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Yea I'll bet it will be the Sox..

Growing up,watching only Cubs and White Sox home games on WGN,I never heard of a ground rule double until probably cable tv came out...It cost the Angels a two-out run just now

Are they actually ground rules peculiar to each park, or are they rules of MLB?

Ive often wondered why on plays like that the umpires can't make a ruling that fits the game circumstance closer-- There are some places in some parks that are always a triple, or where runners always score from first or whatever ...its just part of the game for now

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ground rule doubles have been standard practice for as long as I can remember. if the ball bounces into the stands it's a double. If a man is on first he stays at third. Some parks have peculiarities that make for odd rulings, but the basic ground rule double has been around since I think the 30's. At one time, a ball that bounced into the stands was called a home run, but I think that changed during Babe Ruth's era.

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At one time, a ball that bounced into the stands was called a home run, but I think that changed during Babe Ruth's era.

I've read stories and seen pics of ropes put in the outfield for overflow crowds in the old days (teens and 20's or so) and the fans rushing in or moving out depending on which team hit it....

That must have made for some colorful arguments....

Ive been aware of the g-r double rule but there are some places that it just doesn't make sense, (the CF triangle at Fenway is almost always a triple f'rinstance) in effect penalizing the batting team for a bounce.

Of course I can't bitch, in last years ALCS Tony Clark hit one on a bounce into the RF stands keeping the go ahead, and what could have been the winning run at third in game 5. It wouldve ended the ALCS for the Yanks and there would have been no WS for the Red Sox...

I guess they figure that its the same rule for both teams and just another of those quirks about the game that can keep you talking, thinking and wondering for years after the fact.

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At the old Comiskey,and at Wrigley Field,I think it's practically impossible to hit a drive that would bounce high enough to clear the high ivied walls or the tall ones at Comiskey(I don't think anybody ever got robbed of a homerun there either)...Now that I think about it,I think the first time I saw a ground rule double was probably over that old four-foot high,310' deep left field fence at Yankee stadium...

Before each game,I know the umps go over the ground rules that are unique to each park...At the BOB in Arizona,for instance,the center field "batter's eye" has a yellow line that goes horizontal,then down,then horizontal again...Every so often they have an argument whether the ball cleared the yellow line,or not...

I think I started seeing a lot more ground rule doubles in the '70's when all those ball parks had artificial turf in the outfield and the ball would bounce a mile high...One game,Dick Allen hit two inside the park homers when the ball went bouncing past the charging center fielder....Anyway,if I were to design a ballpark,I'd make sure only homeruns left the park and everything else that was hit fair stayed in the field of play....'Tho,I remember at Wrigley,Bob Gibson hit an inside-the-parker,when it caromed off the wall,rolled into the Cubs bullpen down the third base line,and the outfielder couldn't find it under the bench for a few seconds---long enough for Gibson to score...

Go Sox!

:D

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Even if you have the walls high enough weird things can and do happen---last year sheffield hit one down the first base line-- it rolled into a beer cup and got wedged-it was quite a sight to see Trot Nixon try to get it out then hurl the ball (still in the cup) like a wounded duck to second....after a little discussion It was ruled (what else) a ground rule double.....I can imagine that things get interesting at Wrigley if a ball gets lost in the ivy, I know it was always a source of contention when I was a kid and balls got lost in the bushes

Edit: Since we were more or less on the subject of whining during playoff time--here is More useless crap to whine about...

For one thing he wouldn't be applying shaving cream to baseballs,

If its Wells its gotta be either cream filling from a donut or maybe Genesee Cream Ale

Edited by mstar1
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Even if you have the walls high enough weird things can and do happen---last year sheffield hit one down the first base line-- it rolled into a beer cup and got wedged-it was quite a sight to see Trot Nixon try to get it out then hurl the ball (still in the cup) like a wounded duck to second....after a little discussion It was ruled (what else) a ground rule double.....I can imagine that things get interesting at Wrigley if a ball gets lost in the ivy, I know it was always a source of contention when I was a kid and balls got lost in the bushes while still in play

Edit: Since we were more or less on the subject of whining during playoff time--here is More useless crap to whine about...

For one thing Im pretty he wouldn't be applying shaving cream to baseballs,

If its Wells it must be either cream filling from a donut or maybe Genesee Cream Ale

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